Safety cabinet with drawer

ABSTRACT

A safety cabinet has a sturdy box having an open front side and a door hinged to the box and movable between a closed position fitting against the box and closing the front side and an open position pivoted out from the box and exposing the open front side. A shelf can slide in the open position of the door between an in position wholly contained in the box behind the open front side and an out position projecting forward at least partially from the open front side. An arm connected between the door and the shelf moves the shelf into the out position when the door is moved respectively into the open position and into the in position when the door is moved into the closed position.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cabinet. More particularly this invention concerns a so-called safety cabinet such as is used to store dangerous or toxic chemicals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is often necessary for liability purposes or to comply with rules or regulations to store dangerous or toxic materials in a so-called safety cabinet capable of securely containing them. Such a cabinet typically has at least one door normally pivotal about a horizontal axis. It may also have a pull-out drawer or shelf (hereafter always referred to as a drawer) for holding the stored contents.

As described in German 20 2004 004 855 such a cabinet has an automatic closing device that ensures that the safety cabinet is reliably closed in case of fire. Such an automatic closer, which primarily uses a fusible arm and a spring arrangement, is described for instance in German patent 103 05 444. The outer walls and door of such a cabinet are made to be fairly fire-resistant, as a principal function of such cabinets is to prevent ignition of dangerous chemicals in the event of a fire. Typically the bottom, side, rear, and top walls are formed as thick square or rectangular panels each having a core formed of a high-temperature-resistance closed-cell foam and a pair of durable metal skins.

Since the cabinets or safety cabinets in question are filled with hazardous goods, in particular chemicals, adding and removing the goods to be stored frequently represents a problem. For instance, normally a technician must first open the pivotal door and only then is it possible to pull out the drawer in order to set on it, for instance, a chemical-filled bottle. Frequently the pivotal door and the drawer are operated with one hand and the chemical or container in question is held in the other hand. Not only is this cumbersome, but it is also unsafe.

German patent document 20 2006 007 632 proposes a solution in which a cabinet door and a shelf unit form a carousel supported on a pivot axis that is spaced from the cabinet door and that traverses the housing unit. In this manner when the cabinet door is opened the shelf unit pivots out of the cabinet body and when the cabinet door is closed it pivots into the cabinet body. This works more safely, but is very wasteful of space. To date there are no compelling solutions for drawers in safety cabinets.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved drawer-type safety cabinet.

Another object is the provision of such an improved drawer-type safety cabinet that overcomes the above-given disadvantages, in particular that is simpler to handle and safer to use than the prior-art such cabinets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A safety cabinet has according to the invention a sturdy box having an open front side and a door hinged to the box and movable between a closed position fitting against the box and closing the front side and an open position pivoted out from the box and exposing the open front side. A shelf can slide in the open position of the door between an in position wholly contained in the box behind the open front side and an out position projecting forward at least partially from the open front side. An arm connected between the door and the shelf moves the shelf into the out position when the door is moved respectively into the open position and into the in position when the door is moved into the closed position.

Thus when the door is opened the drawer is automatically pulled out and when the door is closed the drawer is automatically pushed in. Handling is simplified and the drawer can be easily loaded from the front and/or from the side.

To this end, the invention specifically suggests that the door be equipped with an attached drive arm that engages in a guide profile on the drawer. Normally the drive arm is attached to the inside of the pivotal door. This be via a pivot.

However, as a rule the drive arm forms a fixed, prespecified angle with the pivotal door, that is, it is connected to the pivotal door to extend rigidly at a fixed angle therefrom. Normally the drive arm is attached to the inside of the pivotal door, specifically at an acute angle of between about 30° and about 80°, preferably between 40° and 70°. In addition, the arm projects inward from a planar inner face of the door. In this arrangement the rigidly interconnected door and arm together form a first-degree lever whose fulcrum is at the door-hinge axis between the force and load respective applied to the door and arm rear end.

Moreover, it has proved advantageous when the drive arm is below the drawer. That is, the drive arm engages underneath the drawer because it is below a bottom face or plane of the drawer. This plane of the drawer is defined by at least one drawer guide track along which the drawer is pulled in and out. Normally there are two drawer guide tracks that are fixed on the interior of the cabinet body and are attached to the outside of the drawer and that telescope when the drawer is pulled out and pushed in. The drive arm is below the plane defined by these drawer guide tracks so that the drive arm does not collide with the drawer guide tracks when the drawer is pulled out and pushed in.

The guide profile on the drawer for engaging the drive arm is generally designed as a guide track. A guide pin or a plurality of guide pins engage in the guide track. The guide pin(s) is/are attached to the drive arm. It has proven useful when the guide profile extends at an acute angle on the drawer relative to a pull-out direction thereof. Normally the pull-out direction for the drawer is the same as the direction in which the drawer guide track or tracks telescope. The guide profile now extends at this acute angle to this direction of telescoping or pull-out direction of the drawer. Normally an acute angle results that is between 30° and 80°, preferably between 40° and 70°.

Moreover, as a rule the guide track is connected to the bottom of the drawer. In this manner the drive arm fixed to the rotary wing drawer, which drive arm is disposed below the guide plane and consequently below the guide tracks and thus also below the bottom of the drawer, can interact smoothly with the guide track. To this end the guide pin that is taller than the drive arm engages in the guide profile or guide track arranged thereabove.

If the pivotal door is moved now, the drive arm and its guide pin slide along the guide profile. The angles of the track and arm are such that the above-described guide pin moves along a circularly arcuate path centered on a hinge axis of the door. When the circular arc moves about the door axis, the guide pin slides along the guide profile, specifically from a starting position to a final position. When the pivotal door is opened, and consequently when the drawer is simultaneously pulled out, the starting position corresponds to the guide pin being far from a front end of the drawer. In contrast, the final position of the guide pin within the guide profile corresponds to placement of the guide pin near the drawer front end. That is, the guide profile, which is preferably attached to the bottom of the drawer, has a acute angle relative to the pull-out direction of the drawer such that the starting position of the guide pin within the guide profile is farther away from the front end of the drawer than the final position. When the guide pin transitions from the starting position to the final position when the pivotal door is opened, the simultaneous circularly arcuate movement of the guide pin about the door axis exerts an axial force on the drawer, specifically such that the latter is pulled out automatically during the above-described process (and is pushed back in when the door is closed).

Consequently when the door of the inventive safety cabinet is opened, the drawer is automatically extended from its in position into its out position, and vice versa when it is closed. Because this opening process also makes the opened drawer available, it can be used immediately. If the door is closed now, the drawer automatically follows this closing movement and also goes to its in position.

It should be stressed that in the framework of the invention the pivotal door is or can also be a folding door. What is critical is the fact that at least a portion of the door can pivot about the door axis relative to the cabinet body and is hinged thereto at the door axis. Moreover, it is naturally within the framework of the invention that not only can one pivotal door be present in the cabinet body, but also for instance two or more pivotal doors can be present in the cabinet body. Furthermore, naturally a plurality of drawers can also be automatically pulled in and out simultaneously using the one pivotal door. In any case, handling of the inventive cabinet or safety cabinet is improved significantly and accidents are substantially reduced. In particular there is practically no risk (or there is no risk at all) that for instance a flammable liquid or even another chemical will be unintentionally dropped when the cabinet is opened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of the cabinet according to the invention with the door partly and fully open, respectively;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view from below of the cabinet in the fully open position; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic views from above showing the cabinet with the door fully closed and fully open, respectively.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION

As seen in FIGS. 1-3 a safety cabinet according to the invention is intended for the storage of flammable liquids and gases. It is basically formed as a heavily insulated parallepipedal box or body 1 having armored and insulated rigidly interconnected side, back, top and bottom walls and an open front that can be closed by at least one pivotal door 2 pivotal on the body 1 about a vertical axis 4 at the front of one of the rectangular side walls.

In addition as best shown in FIG. 2 the box 1 holds at least one drawer 3. Here formed as an upwardly open stout box having a horizontal and planar floor panel 3 a, two upstanding and parallel side panels 3 b, a front panel 3 c bridging the front ends of the side panels 3 b and joined to the front edge of the floor panel 3 a, and similarly mounted rear panel 3 d. Full-extension telescoping rail hardware 8 secured to the inside faces of the side walls of the box 1 engages the lower edges of the side walls 3 b so that the drawer 3 can travel in and out of the box 1 as shown by horizontal arrow F, with a planar bottom face of the floor 3 a spaced somewhat above the planar upper face of the confronting floor wall of the box 1.

The pivotal door 2 is connected according to the invention to the drawer 3 in order to make it easier to handle the safety cabinet and to facilitate adding and removing stored goods from it. Thus when the pivotal door 2 is opened the drawer 3 is automatically pulled out and when the pivotal door 2 is closed the drawer 3 is automatically pushed back in. During the above-described opening movement as depicted in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 a, and 4 b, the inventive connection between the pivotal door 2 and the drawer 3 causes the drawer 3 to be pulled out automatically. It is pushed in automatically when the pivotal door 2 is closed.

More specifically, the mechanism that does this is wholly contained in the FIG. 4 a closed position upward and downward between the lower face of the floor 3 a of the drawer 3, the upper face of the floor of the box 1 and to the sides between the rail hardware 8. This mechanism includes a drive arm 5 and a guide profile or guide track 6. The track 6 is downwardly open with inwardly directed lower lips and extends straight and diagonally and forming a slightly obtuse angle a with the pull-out direction D. The drive arm 5 has a front end fixed at 12 in the center of the inside face of the pivotal front and a rear end riding via a roller or wheel 7 in the downwardly open track 6. The arm 7 is formed by a flat metal bar lies in a plane slightly below the lowermost face of the track and of the respective suspension rail 8 so that it does not take up a lot of space vertically.

In the closed position as illustrated in FIG. 4 a the arm 5, which like the track 5 here is straight but could be curved, extends back and forms a fixed angle P of 30° to 80° with the planar inside face of the front door 2, here almost 80°, which itself in the closed position is perpendicular to the direction F. The follower roller 7 is at a position near the rear-outside end of the track 6 and far from the front panel 3 c of the shelf 3.

As the door 2 is opened, moving from the closed position of FIG. 3 extending perpendicular to the horizontal direction through the partly open position of FIG. 1 to the fully open positions of FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 b, the follower roller 7 rides out in the track 6 to an end position 10 somewhat past a mid plane of the drawer 3, traveling along a circularly arcuate path 11 and applying an outward force in the direction 3 against the rail 6 and through it to the drawer 3. At the same time the roller 7 moves to a position closer to the front wall 3 c of the shelf 3. The use of a stiff arm 5 and the angling of the track 6, as opposed for instance to simply pivoting the front and rear ends of the arm 5 at fixed points on the door 2 and drawer 3, provides a slow acceleration out of (and deceleration into) the fully in position of FIG. 4 a into the out position wholly projecting from the box 1. This ensures slowest shelf travel as the shelf 3 moves into and out of its in position and avoids spillage accidents.

Closing the door 2 is the reverse procedure with the arm moving from position 10 to position 9 along path 11 and pushing the shelf 3 back into the box 1, the angle P again remaining fixed. Like during the opening movement, the bar forming the arm 5 slides just below the suspension rail 8 on that side of the box 1.

FIG. 3 shows another arm rod 12 forming part of an automatic closer. In fact the rod 12 acts on an unillustrated pre-stressed spring that, when a certain temperature is reached and an associated unillustrated fusible arm melts, acts on the rod 2 and consequently closes the pivotal door 2 and pushes in the drawer 3 attached thereto. The automatic closer may work using the principle that is described in the German patent publications already cited. 

1. A safety cabinet comprising: a sturdy box having an open front side; a door hinged to the box and movable between a closed position fitting against the box and closing the front side and an open position pivoted out from the box and exposing the open front side; a shelf slidable in the open position of the door between an in position wholly contained in the box behind the open front side and an out position projecting forward at least partially from the open front side; means including an arm connected between the door and the shelf for moving the shelf into the out position when the door is moved respectively into the open position and into the in position when the door is moved into the closed position.
 2. The safety cabinet defined in claim 1 wherein the means includes a guide track on the drawer engaged by the arm.
 3. The safety cabinet defined in claim 2 wherein the arm has a front end secured to the door and a rear end engaged with the guide track.
 4. The safety cabinet defined in claim 3 wherein the arm projects at a predetermined fixed acute angle from the door.
 5. The safety cabinet defined in claim 3 wherein the arm and track lie between a lower face of the drawer and an upper face of a bottom wall of the box.
 6. The safety cabinet defined in claim 3 wherein the guide track is open downward and the arm rear end carried a roller engaged upward into the guide trace and shiftable therealong on movement if the drawer and shelf between the respective positions.
 7. The safety cabinet defined in claim 3 wherein the guide track extends at an acute angle to a direction of travel of the shelf between its in and out positions.
 8. The safety cabinet defined in claim 3 wherein the track is attached to a downwardly directed bottom face of the drawer.
 9. The safety cabinet defined in claim 3 wherein the guide track is angled such that on movement of the door between its open and closed out positions the inner end moves through a circularly arcuate path centered on a hinge axis of the door.
 10. The safety cabinet defined in claim 9 wherein the path extends from a position relative close to a side wall of the box to a position far from the same side wall of the box on movement of the door between the closed and open positions.
 11. The safety cabinet defined in claim 3, further comprising: track hardware supporting the shelf in the box and horizontally flanking the rear end of the arm and the track.
 12. A safety cabinet comprising: a generally parallelepipedal sturdy box having a horizontal bottom wall, two parallel and horizontally spaced vertical side walls extending upward from side edges of the bottom wall, a vertical back wall secured to rear edges of the side and bottom walls, a top wall secured to top edges of the side and rear walls, and an open front side; a door hinged to the box about a vertical axis adjacent a front edge of one of the side walls and movable between a closed position fitting with front edges of the top, bottom, and side walls and closing the front side and an open position pivoted out from the box and exposing the open front side; a shelf slidable in the open position of the door between an in position wholly contained in the box behind the open front side and spaced above the bottom wall and an out position projecting forward at least partially from the open front side; suspension hardware supporting side edges of the shelf on the side walls of the box for movement in a horizontal front-to-back drawer-travel direction between the in and out positions; a track on a bottom face of the door extending at an acute angle to the direction; and an arm having a front end fixed in the door offset from the axis and a rear end riding in the track and extending at an acute angle to the direction in the closed position of the door for moving the shelf into the out position when the door is moved respectively into the open position and into the in position when the door is moved into the closed position.
 13. The safety cabinet defined in claim 12 wherein in the in position of the shelf and closed position of the door the rear end is close to one of the side walls of the box and in the out position of the shelf and open position of the door the rear end is farther from the one side wall.
 14. The safety cabinet defined in claim 12, further comprising automatic closing means for shifting the door into the closed position and the shelf into the in position in case of a fire near or in the safety cabinet.
 15. The safety cabinet defined in claim 12 wherein the bar lies in a horizontal plane passing under the suspension hardware on the respective side wall of the box on movement of the shelf into and out of the out position. 